workman



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet I.

8 S. WORKMAN.

SAFETY EXPRESS OAR.

Patented July 8, 1888.

j W1) M170 7".

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.,

S. WORKMAN.

SAFETY EXPRESS GAR.

No. 385,396. Patented July 3, 1888.

rpgs 8 es, 7 171/7) 6 m /Jam 7/147; (1777/770/21/ W V Q%W%,

3 a person in an inner or thlrd compartment to UNIT D STATES ATENTFries.

sAMUEL WORKMAN,'OF BEATRICE, NEBRASKA.

SA F ETY EXPRESS-CAR.

SPECIPICATIONicrming part oi Letters Patent No. 385,395, dated July 3,1888.

Application filed October 16, i886. Serial No. 216,446. (No model.)

To aJZZ whom itJna-y concern.-

' Be it known that I, SAMUEL WORKMAN, a,

. which articles of great value are frequently transported arepeculiarly liable to attack from I i train-robbers and other thieves,and should efiqre oeonstru ter .ancs ardedast ffritnwn M or in par-tpractically safe, into which it is impossi an entrance; furthermore, inexpress-cars as efor any person to 'force now constructed the robber,after obtaining admittance, by fraud or otherwise, through an outerdoor, has merely to overpower the pertered through a bullet-proofpartition, and in son in charge, when the entire contents of the car areat his mercy, the interior of the car being practically one large roomprotected only by a single strongly-barred door.

The object of my invention is to prevent the entrance of any person intoa car or part of a car to be guarded without the consent of the personin charge; furthermore, to enable admit any onefrom an outer or'firstinto a middle or secondeompartment' without leavingthc-iunercompartment; furthermore, to "enable the person in the innerorthird compartme'nt'to satisfy himself, by inspection, as

to the identity of the person whom hehas ad mitted into the secondcompartment, and. finally, to euable the inner compartmenteffeetivelytobe defended againstanysuspici ous'personsjwho might .by deceptionihaveob tained'. access-.t'othemiddlefcom'partment. .With, these objects in.view, my invention (insists-Essentially; in. a pea the? whole," or

preferably aportiom of which divided by transverse vertical partitionsinto three compartmentsor chambers, a narrow outer end compartment,-No.1, a middle receiving-comdoor, and, finally, an inner compartment, No.3, forming a safe or magaz1ne,which1s en? locked by the same movementwhich unlocks the other, it being impossible to unlock the door leadinginto'the second compartmentuntil the door leading into the thirdcompartment is closed and in position to be secured by the ing into thesecond compartment; and, finally, the invention resides in means'ofdefense and various novel details of construction shown, whereby theobjects of the invention are attained.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts, Figure 11's a longitudinal vertical,sectional view of a car in which my invention is embodied, showingoneside of my safety portion with windows, sliding door, and cage orsame movemenhwhich.unlocks the. door lead! box, and the construction andarrangement of 89 the transverse vertical partitions with entrancedoorin the first. Fig. 2 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 1, butdisplaying, on

an enlarged scale, the safety portion of the car,

and showing in addition mail-box and safe in the inner compartment. Fig.3 is a transverse and the means for locking it, and showing inlongitudinal section the box or cage into. which packages, 860., maybeput at the various stationsandfrom which packages may there beslidingdoor andlcage on the opposite side of. the car to that seen inFigs. land 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken 1through the third orinner compartment, show .ing the devicesfor lockingthe third. door or door to the inner compartment, and for operating fromthe inner compartment the fastenings of the second door, showing thedevices which compel the closing of the third door or door to the'innercompartment before the secvertical sectional view taken-through thesecond or middle compartment, showing the door between the firstandsecond compartments removed, the view-being such as to show the end doorcan be unlocked, showing the sightopenings to enable the person in thethird compartment to inspect any one admitted in the second compartment,showing the devices for defending the third or inner compartment fromassault, and showing the mailbox. Fig. 5 is a ing the inner block andits bearings in the I length of the second compartment.

outer block; and Fig. Tis a detail view of the part of the lockingdevice which is in the inner chamber.

It is preferred that the space which the bu rglar-proof or safetyexpress-car is to occupy in an ordinary express-car shall be aboutonet-hird of the length of the car in which it is located, the length,however, to vary as may be desirable according to the length of thevarious express-cars or as may be desired by the different companics-say, from twelve tofour- .teen feet.

The safety portion is to be divided into three compartments. The outerend of the safety portion-that is,.the end which is toward the center ofthe car-will havein thepartition separating the entire compartment fromthe rest ofthe car andat one side adoor of usual size and strength, bywhich. door the first compartment is entered. A short distance from thisouter part-ition say eighteen inches therefromin a direction away fromthe center of the carand toward its end,there will be another partition,in which, on the opposite side of the car from the lirst door, therewill be a second door opening into a second compartment of about ten rtimes the length of the first compartment, and in a partition at thefarther end of this compartment, and on the side of the car opposite tothat at which the second door is located, is a third door opening intothe third compartment, which is about two-thirds the The firstcompartment is called the outer chamber, the second compartment themiddle chamber, and the third compartment the inner chamber, safe, ormagazine. Each side of the entire safety portion is to have threewindows, one at the side of each compartment; but there is to be no doorat the side of any one of thecompartments by which ingress or egress ofa person could be eii'ected.

As above indicated, the outer chamber is to be about eighteen inches inlength from partition to partition, and the windows at its sides, forlight and ventilation, will be ordinary openings securely barred. Thepurpose of havingtheouter chamber so small is to prevent a burglar orother person bent upon violence from being able successfully to wield anaxe, a sledge-hammer, or other heavy implement against the door in thepartition between the outer and middle chambers.

The middle chamber is to be about six feet in length, and the windows atits sides, for light and ventilation, will also be ordinary openingssecurely barred; but in addition to the windows there will be at eachside a sliding door covered within the chamber by a box or cage fromfourto five feet long and about three and one-half feet high, the slideserving to permit or exclude admission to the box or cage from outside,as whenpackagcs are to be received or delivered at a station, or whensuch are to be taken from or put into the box or cage by the person whohas charge of the car. The sliding door is of course capable of beingsecurely fastened from within, and the box or cage will be securelyfastened over the sliding door.

The box or cage maybe provided with a suitable lid, and when this isclosed and locked down communication between the interior of the carandthe outside through the sliding door is completely cut off; but shouldconversation between agents be desirable, the window at the side of thecar, over the box or cage, can be approached, and communication can behad through this. If necessary, the windows at the sides of the middlechamber can be so arranged as to be capable of being openedsufficientlylong to permit the signing of receipts. It will be seen thatthe middle chamber is intended as a receptacle for goods, chattels, menchandise, and other valuables to be conveyed upon thetrain, and whichare placed in charge of the express company at the various stationsalong the road for transportation.

As above indicated, the inner chamber isto be about four feet in length;but the windows at the sides, in addition to being openings stronglybarred, are to have sliding metallic shutters upon the inside, which arealways to be kept closed and locked shut when the car is not in motion,and aside from ventilating means there is to be no further opening inthis chamber, except the. door which leads to it from the middlechamber. The inner chamber is to constitute, practically, a safe, and ispreferably made of two-inch oak, matched and ceiled outside, as usual,and lined, if dcv sired, with strong metallic plates securely fastened.This inner chamber is intended to contain the safe, letter-boxes,cartridges, and the water-closet, andis to be arranged and guarded asfollows:

The partition between the middle and inner chambers is to be of metal,or to be lined or sheathed on both sides with metallic-say steel orironplatcs, to render it bullet-proof. The door in this partition is tobe equally well protected, and will be so provided that it can never beunlocked while the door between the outer and middle chambers is open orunlocked.

The door between the middle and inner chambers will turn upon hinges andopen against a spring tending forcibly to close it. One way ofaccomplishing this is to connect-the hinges by a rod, upon which is adouble spiral spring having its ends bearing against the door or againsta bar extending across the door, this the door to lock it.

bar at its outer end to.form a hasp, and at its inner end to be roundedand perforated to permit the passage of the rod upon which the spring issupported, and thus give firmness and strength thereto.

The door in the partition between the middle and inner chambers will belocked as follows: The bar at the outer end whereit forms the hasp isentered by a staple in the partition, and above in this partition is asimilar staple to act as a guide to a bolt passing down through thesetwo staples and over the bar of This bolt is pivoted to one end of apivoted lever hung at the center of the partition between the middle andinner chambers, which lever has fixed to it or in it between its ends arod, which extends through the partition between the middle and innerchambers and across the middle chamber to a lever arm pivoted in themiddle chamber upon the partition between the outer and middle chambers,and the door between the outer and middle chambers is locked from thisarm in a similar manner and by the same appliances as described forlocking the door between the middle and inner chambers.

The pivoted lever hung at the center of the partition between thevmiddleand inner chambers is attached to the end farthest from the door in thispartition to a flat perpendicular bar with a handle below, by means ofwhich the agent within the inner compartment can lock and unlock thedoors between the outer and middle and the middle and inner chambers.This fiat bar has two square recesses on one side and one square recesson the other. Of the two recesses on the one side the upper one, whenthe bar is pulled down by the agent, presents entrance for a retainingbar or stop, which is forced by a spring, while the lower one presentsanother for the retaining bar or stop when the flat bar is pushed up.The pulling down of the flat bar locks the door between the outer andmiddle chambers and unlocks the door between the middle and innerchambers, and the retaining bar or stop in the upper recess holds thedoor between the outer and middle chambers locked, be pushed upon itsspring and out of the upper recess to allow the door between the outerand middle chambers to be unlocked by the pushing up of the flat baraforesaid and to lock the door between the middle and inner chambers.\Vhen the flat bar is pushed up, the spring-stop enters the lower recessand holds the door between the middle and inner chambers locked.

The square recess on the other side of the flat bar is made for theadmission of a long square retaining bar or stop on the partitionbetween the middle and inner chambers,which, by thc'opening of the doorbetween the middle and inner chambers and by a spring, is

made to take into this recess and hold the flat bar to prevent its beingpushed up to open the other door. One end of this springstop is similarin shape to the latch of an ordinary This step must door-lock, and it isarranged with the sloping side out from the partition. The closing ofthe door between the middle and inner chambers pushes this stop back,thus allowing the agent to push up the flat bar after pressing aside thespring-stop from the upper of the two recesses on the one side of theflat bar'and lock the door between the' middle and inner chambers andunlock the door between the outer and middle chambers. While the doorbetween the middle and outer chambers is unlocked,the door between themiddle and inner chambers is locked, and vice versa. Should the agentbecome careless and hold the door between the middle and inner chambersopen by placing something against it, he cannot accidentally open thedoor between the outer and middle chambers.

The partition between'the middle and inner chambers has extendingthroughout from the inner chamber. two or more self cocking breech-loading revolvers, or other suitable arms, swung upon a double pivotand showing nothing but their muzzles to an occupant of the middlechamber. These fire-arms are so arranged as to command in range the doorbetween the outer and middlechambers and nearly all of the middlechamber.

It is expected that the agent who is to sueceed the one on duty willhave a key to the outer door, ordoor No. 1, and will apply at the doorto themiddle chamber, or door No. 2, which has no key-hole or lock uponthe out side in the outer. chamber, or chamber No. 1, foradmittance,either by some well-understood signal, as by a peculiarknock, a puslrbutton, bell-signal, or otherwise. \Vhen the proper signalhas been given, the agent within will push up the tlat bar, therebyunlocking door No. 2 and locking door No. 3, or that between the middleand inner chambers. The applicant will then be seen by the agent in theinner chamber, or chamber No. 3, through a small eye or peep-hole, ofwhich there maybe one, two, or more out at proper placesthrongh thepartition between the middle and inner chambers, and perhaps, also, indoor No. 3,

thereby unlocking door No. 3 and locking door No. 2, and the secondagent is admitted,

and,assuming his place in chamber No. 3,10cks door No. 3, unlocks doorNo. 2, and permits the first agent, who is now relieved, to pass out ofdoor No. 2, and locks it after him.

Should an unauthorized person gain admittance to the middle chamber byhaving in pistol through a window of the inner chamber, bring the trainto a standstill and receive aid in arresting the intruder, or can, ifmust be, shoot him.

The roof is to be secure and strong, and'bars or a strong wire screenfrom the wall-plates to it will allow air to circulate from compartmentto compartment.

The window-shutters in chamber No. 3 are to be fastened by aspring-catch.

Referring to the drawings, the first compartment or outer chamber isrepresented by the letter A This compartment has a partition,

a, which separates it, and, indeed, the entire safety express-car fromthe rest of the car, or frpm the outside, and is provided with a door,a,which is to be locked with an ordinary key, is swung automaticallyinto closed position by asuitable spring, and presents the means ofentering said first compartment from without. The compartment hassecurely-barred win- (lows at the sides, marked a The nextcompartment-that is, the second compartment or middle chamber is markedB. This compartmenthas preferably about eighteeninches from the firstpartition, or that marked a, .a partition, 7), which separates itfromthe outer chamber, A, and is provided with a hinged door, I), at thefarther side of the car fromt the door a, and across the center of whichis secured a flat bar, I), having a slot in its free end, through which,when the door is closed, passes a staple, If, the door beingautomatically closed and held in its closed position by springs b andlocked in its closed positionby a vertically-sliding bolt, I), the freeend of which passes through a gnidestaple, I), abovethe staple If", andthen, when pushed down, through the staple I)". The upper end of thisbolt is pivoted to the free end of an-arm, b, fixed to one end of arock-shaft, b", and against the partition, the rock-shaft extendinglength wise through the middle chamber at the upper part. When the armis swung downward by turning the rock-shaft,theboltlfwill be pushed downand the door locked, while, when it is swung upward by turning therock-shaft in the opposite direction, the bolt will be raised and thedoor unlocked. Securely-barred windows at the sides of this compartmentare marked 0. The sliding doors at the sides are marked 1), and aresecurely bolted on the inside when closed, and over either sliding dooris a movable box or cage, b", open at the side against the sliding door,provided, if desirable, with a sccurable lid, and-of size and form toadapt it to cover the sliding door opening 'into it, the said box orcage being fastened in position to prevent displacement. byforce fromoutside when the sliding door is open for the reception of packages bysuitable means-such as reciprocating bolts b in the frame of the slidingdoor and entering the top of the cage. Before the train halts at astation the expressmessenger places in the box the articles which are tobe delivered at that particular station, and firmly secures the box atthe door on the proper side of the chamber with its mouth covering thesliding door. WVhen the train stops, the messenger slides back the doorat that side'of the car and the stationagent can remove the articlescontained in the box and put into it the things at that station to be taken into the express-car. The barred windows may be swung open longenough to permit the signing of receipts. As soon as the transfor iscompleted the sliding door will be closed and bolted, and the contentsof the box will be removed, as by a seeurable lid or by 1noving the box,and placed intheirproper places.

The last compartment-that is, the third compartment or inner chamber-ismaked G. This compartment has preferably about six feet from the secondpartition, or that marked 1), a partition 0, which separates it from themiddle chamber, 13, and is provided with a hinged door, '0, across thecenter of which is secured a'flat bar, 0 having a slot in its free end,through which, when the door is closed, passes a staple, c, the doorbeing automatically closed by springsc, and locked in its closedposition by a vertically'sliding bolt, 0, the free-end of which passesthrough a guidestaple, c,and t.l 1en,when pushed down,through the staple0 The upper end of this bolt is pivoted to one end of a lever, c rigidlyfixed at apoint between'its ends upon the other end of the rock-shaft b,projecting through partition a into chamber 0. To the other end of thelever c is pivoted at its upper end a flat bar, 0 having .a suitablehandle or offset at its lower end, and sliding vertically in guides c".As already said, the lever 0 is fixed at a point between its ends uponthe rock-shaft, and as the arm I) at the first end of the rock-shaftprojects in a direction opposite to that of the end of the lever c,which bears the bolt 0", and as the bar a is on the opposite end ofthis lever, it follows that when the bar is pushed up the door b will beunlocked and the door c'locked, and when the flat bar is pulled down thedoor b will be locked and the door 0 unlocked.

One side of the fiat bar has two square notches or recesses 0" and inthe sta les on the inner side of the partition 0 is ahorizontally-sliding bar, 0, which is forced against the bar by aspring, 0", and will take into either recess as the bar is pushed up orpulled down and lock the bar in either position. Upon the other side ofthe-flat bar is a single square-notch or recess, a, and in staples onthe inner side of the. partition and extending across the same behindthe fiat bar,where it is notched to permit lateral movement thereon, andabove the,

first horizontally-sliding bar to the door,is anotherhorizontally-sliding bar, c, which is forced by a spring, 0, and hasits'end at the ICC) door beveled with the bevel outward, so thatpressure of the edge of the door against it slides this bar against itsspring, and when the door is closed thus holds it. When the flat bar ispulled down and the inner door is opened, the spring pushes thishorizontallysliding bar toward the door, and. a projection,

0 on this bar enters the recess 0 in the [lat bar. The projection 0engaging with the recess c, prevents the flat bar from beingpushed up tounlock the second door, and the horizontally-sliding bar c can only bemoved to free the flat bar 0 by closing the inner door. This is toprevent the agent in the inner chamber, if he has carelessly left theinner door open, from thoughtlessly unlocking the second' door. v

In addition to the fastenings of the door to the inner chamber justdescribed or those connected with the door to the middle chamber,

there will be separate and independent fastenings, such as a bolt orbelts, or the button indicated at c, the purpose of this independentfastening being to be able to imprison, as before described, anunauthorized person who has entered the middle chamber. The partition 0between the middle and inner chambers is of metal, or is covered orsheathed on both sides with metal plates of suificient thickness torender it bullet-proof, and the door in this partition is renderedbullet-proof in the same manner.

As before indicated, the rest of the inner chamber is also to bebullet-proof, either by the nature and thickness of the material ofwhich the end of the car itself is to be constructed or by lining andsheathing it with metal. The metallic lining of the chamber is indicatedby the mark c.

Like the other compartments, the inner compartment has also astrongly-barred window at each side marked c but in addition each windowis provided with a sliding inside me tallic shutter, 0 which is held inclosed position by a spring-catch, 0 or other suitable device.

In the bullet-proof partition 0 at one side of the door are journaled attheir ends in a horizontal plane and at a convenient height from thefloor of the car one or more pivotblocks, 0, having journaled in themtransversely other blocks, 0, having pivots 0", presenting inner blocksto'the first or outer blocks, the first blocks being formed with thetransverse slots 0 at right angles to the said pivots, these slotsincreasing in width from their centers toward each end. The inner blocksare formed with retaining-apertures, such as transverse screw-t1] readedapertures 0 registering with the slots 0 in the outer blocks, and intothese retaining-or threaded apertures are inserted the barrels ofsuitable firearms, such as breech-loading revolvers e, the said armsbeing formed with retaining means--such as exterior screw-threadsforholding them in position and preventing them from slipping out by theirweight or from being knocked out by blows upon their outer ends.

The root, marked D, is preferably peaked, and between the upper edges ofthe partitions a, b, andc and the roof are provided the small spaces d,to allow circulation of air for. ventilagrating or bars, (1.

While I have thus minutely described the specific means for carrying myinvention into effect, it will of course be obvious that the same may besomewhat varied without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is v I 1. A safety-car consisting of threecompartinentsnamel y, an outer narrow compartment,

a middle compartment,and an inner compart- 4. A railway-car divided intocompartments, V

the partitions between the compartments being provided with doors lockedby means of hasps, staples, and bolts, the bolts of the two doors beingso arranged that they shall move simultaneously in opposite directionsin order that one may be locked simultaneously with the unlocking of theother, and a lever operating both bolts.

' bf lh'a'f'ailway-car, the compartments, doors leading into the same,and the mechanism for locking the doors, consisting of theverticallysliding bolts, the lever for operating these, and

the spring-bar for holding the belts in the de siredposition,substantially as described.

6. In arailway-car, thecompartrnents, doors to the same, and mechanismfor locking the doors, consisting of vertically-sliding bolts and thespring sliding bars for holding the parts in any desired position, oneof the sliding bars being provided with a beveled end. engaged by a doorto release the parts when the door is closed, substantially asdescribed.

7. The herein-described means for lockinga door and simultaneouslyunlocking a distant door, consisting of vertical locking-bolts and theoperating-lever, to which one of the said bolts is connected directlyand the other indirectly by means of a rock-shaft and arm, substantiallyasset forth.

8. The means herein described for looking a door and simultaneouslyunlocking a distant door, consisting in the vertical locking-bolts,

'the operating-lever, to which one of the said bolts is connecteddirectly, and to which the other is connected by means of the rock-shaftand a second lever, and the spring slide-bars for locking the parts,substantially asdescribed.

9. Asafety-car divided by transverse partitions into a narrow outercompartment, a middle receivingcompartment formed with a I godreceiving-door, and an inner compartmt or magazine, there being a leverand inmediate devices for-locking from theinner m'partnient the doors inthe partitions beeen the compartments.

10. The safety-ear dividedby the transverse .rtitions,theinner one ofwhich, with its door, bullet-proof, into the narrow outer chamr, themiddle receiving-chamber having the ged receiving door, and thebullet-proof amber, safe, or magazine, and the lever and termediatedevices for locking the doors in e partitions from the inner chamber ormagine.

11. A safety expresscar having 'a bulleti5 proofpartition, a blockjoul'naled therein, and another or inner block pivoted in a differentplane in the first block and perforated for a fire-arm, snleist-antiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signatn re in 20 presence of twowitnesses.

SA MUEL VVORKM AN.

\Vitnesses:

ALEX. GRAHAM, F. XV. DOUGLAS.

